A day after 4 people were killed and 58 went missing after devastating cloudbursts in Himachal’s Shimla and Mandi district, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday confirmed that 49 people are still missing and the rescue and relief operation is in full swing in the state.

Speaking to ANI news agency, Sukhu said he will visit Rampur, where most number of people are missing, once the weather clears up.

“Rescue and relief operations are in full swing…I am going to visit the spot from where the most number of people are missing…if the sunlight comes out, the rescue operation can be carried out with much more speed…we can recover the bodies only when sunlight comes out…currently, around 49 people are missing…,” said the chief minister.

He said the current motive is to rescue the 4 trapped people and recover the bodies trapped under the debris.

“…I request the tourists not to go near waterfalls and rivers…,” said Sukhu.

Himachal Minister Rajesh Dharmani said that CM Sukhu convened a high-level meeting in the state secretariat to take stock of the situation.

“The CM has conducted a high-level meeting in the Secretariat. He tried to visit the affected area, but it was not possible due to bad weather conditions… Kullu, Shimla and Mandi districts have been badly affected by the disaster…There has been extensive damage to the property… An alert has been issued in the whole region. Our search operation will be conducted till we find all the missing persons,” Dharmani added.

Around 4 people were killed and over 50 went missing following several incidents of cloudburst in Himachal, where rain washed away many houses, bridges and roads.

According to the state emergency operation centre, the cloudbursts took place in Nirmand, Sainj and Malana areas in Kullu, Padhar in Mandi and Rampur in Shimla districts on Wednesday night.

Since the onset of monsoon on June 27, as many as 73 people have died in rain-related incidents and the state has also suffered losses to the tune of Rs 649 crore, according to the state’s Emergency Operation Centre.

With inputs from agencies

Link to article – 

Himachal cloudburst: 49 people still missing, restoration work underway in Shimla’s Rampur